FerrariChat.com: Moderating & Censorship...

No, young man, simply a request from the heart.

We buried one of my closest friends last week due to the dreaded "C" .... another friend diagnosed only today.

We should all put our concerns into perspective.

Come on boys, let's call it a day and welcome back "reggie" and that rats' armpit "stimmers" (that's for planting the cucumber in my tent !)

cheers, d

 

I've voted for no P&R and "Girls everywhere", only because I don't care whether flesh gets posted or not. Am happy for it to be posted in an NWS section and don't think it's the worst crime in the world for it to be posted (nor for women to post blokes in their underpants if they so desire, but being led by shopping and shoes rather than the male form, I suspect the ladies won't bother).

However, the P&S section has little or no place here, and even within there the bigoted, uneducated racsim does not. And even though I've only been in there in the last few days after a thread was pointed out here, I'm afraid I do NOT want my sponsorship money going towards allowing that sort of idiocy to be posted on the web. No matter how hidden it is on the site.

It's an ideal to think we can educate these morons (I would love to believe in it too), but like kids, they cannot see reason. The best way to deal with them is a smack round the head (figurative in this case) - one warning on posting racist junk, remove the thread (open apology as required) and if they post again in the same vein, a ban for life. Simple. No third chances.

If every site took this avenue, they'd be left to the iamabigotedknobjockey.com and these sites could easily be dealt with by other means.

I can't convey in words how strongly I feel about this Rob. A bit of flesh is absolutely nothing to letting hatred perpetuate in what many would hopefully think is an intelligent community.

 

Sorry about your mate Dave and yes this caffuffle has had its day....what a pullava

 

By the way - welcome back Rob

 

You have my sympathy Dave, and my empathy as I am going through the same scenario (that's why I've been away from the PC a bit in this time of crisis). I think we have all dropped a bollock in getting so carried away.

P+R: Scary place. I don't go there. It makes me want to cry (and I am not joking).......

Leave the bikini thread where it is. And we do only need one...
P+R is a dangerous free-for-all, but at least it is contained, but I'd be worried what a top notch lawyer could do if someone has a desire to get litigious.
The rules cover the rest.....

 

A few more general comments about moderating and general UK forum behaviour.

I think one of the biggest problems we have in the UK section, and this is one which arises time and time again, is that a small number of people take enjoyment from provoking the moderators. They treat FerrariChat.com as a game that must be played daily, and they derive their enjoyment not from posting interesting comment about Ferrari related stuff, but from sniping at other's posts with off topic stuff. Often the same stuff time after time. I think you all know the examples I'm referring to. "Bring back Tea Are" is one such example.

Some people who treat the site this way have been forced to leave, but others have not. Some have in fact got away with much more than they should have, and because it has been allowed for so long, has become 'acceptable'. I think this is where we need to improve things. As a side effect I suspect it puts off new members too.

I'm all for a bit of banter and am quite happy with NWS threads etc, but I think the problem of people treating the site as a game needs to be stopped. Sadly I think the fact that the current moderators used to be 'one of the boys' does not help their cause.

Many users will remark that we shouldn't take things so seriously and it's only a chat forum, and we should lighten up, but it is precisely this attitude that contributes to the problem I'm describing.

It's not that important but insight is what Rob is after and I think this point is worth considering. Agreed all this is far less important than real-life stuff. Dave and Stig you have my support with your real-life issues. One of my staff had half a kidney removed today to rid him of a tumor.

 

Total agreement Ric. I thought I might just have a look at the site to see if anyhthing has changed since I left.......what a surprise.....same small clutch posting same inept trivia. One's on Piston Heads now, you all know who.....please beg him to come back here, if it's just for his wit, charm and excellent use of the English language. It's what he's angling for.
Couldn't stand the same thing happening to Piston Heads
Well done the moderators by the way....

Rob

 

Dealing with Rob's points in order:

"From a management standpoint it is either moderate nothing or get rid of the forum all together."

That's neither logically correct nor legally a position you'd want to take. The owners of web sites have obligations (esp. in the US) to moderate them. You could not, for example, allow me to offer odds on Ferrari winning the F1 Championship on here because you'd be committing an offence if US citizens received the offer. You can't skip the issue by "playing the all or nothing card", it requires subtler decision criteria than that.

I guess I was one of the people who drew attention to the infamous "The Brits were asking for it" thread. My point was that if I can tolerate that stuff, then the treatment of other people here over a picture of a bum was inappropriate. As long as people are not harming anybody else they have a perfect right to be a prat.

Why didn't more of us respond? I don't chat to a Dog Turd if I step in it, I just wipe it off. Most of wouldn't waste the effort, we have lives.

I'm intrigued by the concept of "leading" a community of 20k people. We're not writing Linux here - why does leadership come into it? It's just exercising a light touch to stop any of us from over-stepping the broadly set bounds of what's acceptable.

In summary, I'm with the general mood of move on as before. However, I was offended by what happened and that it happened in so public a way, as many others were. Hopefully it will be a cathartic experience and next time it won't all play out on a public forum.

jg

 

My main points were:1 the racism towards the Uks asian and ethnic comunity. 2 the attack on the Brits, saying what the title said.
Taking the first point in hand, its all very well when one is in the majority to just say "ignore it", well when your in the minority things have to be said in protest, or things just get worse. Although IMO things will not change on that paricular F.chat section. Every now and then the targets have to let it be known that we are still here reading it. I have had heated argunents on other f.chat sections about racisum from time to time. And as the none white on the thread it is hard work. The only reason that the UK section was involved was becourse of what i had posted in the UK section about the thread disrespecting the UK and its ethnics. Usualy its just about the ethnics.
Imagine if all the none white minority members on F.chat banded together to spout Racist crap about the white people that we converse with every day on F.chat. Do you think every one who was targeted would ignore the thread?? Not a chance!!
As for the second point its called home defence
.
.
.This post is directed at no one in particular, but to the whole. You must understand how we feel.

 

Jg i see what angle you are comming from, and like what you wrote.
I will alter your last line to suit my needs, "being a tolerant social being isnt necessarily easy, when your the minority target".
So now both lines suits both personal angles i think.

 

Just to add my 2p.

I have not voted above, as the options don't fit, but I would vote for:

1/ Close down P&R section, *if* it is not to be moderated properly, in line with existing forum rules.

2/ Whilst I don't personally object, I think girly avatars are not a good thing as they may offend female members, and cause problems for FChatters in offices.

3/ Permit girly etc pics in any NWS tagged threads in the UK section.

That's it



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Just to explain the P&R bit, free speech is to be encouraged...BUT the line must be drawn somewhere, as it is the UK (and US?). Hatred, threats, racism, sexism, homophobia etc have no place in civilised society or debate. Forum rules already forbid these, yet such things are common in P&R.

FChat is fantastic especially the UK section. But to a casual visitor, the P&R section gives us all such a bad image. Do we really want visitors to the site to form an impression of us based on anything in P&R as it currently stands?

About moderation, mods should not be so quick to close threads simply because the threads are questioning mods actions. That reads badly, and smells of big brother. (Ref Chaa's thread)

Jas